Beer and Cheese Recap: Rogue

Sorry for the brief delay, the Easter Weekend thoroughly occupied our time. We are making it up to you, however, with our most progressive beer and cheese pairing to date. Sebbie brought some exquisite beer, as usual, including a couple we had not tasted before. Here's what went down.

Chipotle Ale with Rogue River Smokey Blue: An unconventional way to begin a tasting, but what else would you expect from a company called Rogue? Made with roasted chipotle peppers and smoked malt, the ale really perks up your taste buds. We paired it with the Smokey Blue to match the smoked malts, and they resulted in a surprisingly crisp, refreshing opening course.

Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager with Testun di Castagne: From the Chatoe (as in Chateaux) series because it is made with hops and malts grown and harvested by Rogue, the Dirtoir is black as night but medium bodied. An unduplicated balance of earthiness and sweetness gives this ale a charm and drinkability that is truly pleasing. Testun di Castagne, like the beer, is rustic and earthy but also sweet. This complexity comes from the chestnut (castagne) leaves that are wrapped around the curds as they age. They impart a woodsy and mocha finish that balanced the Dirtoir perfectly.

Morimoto Imperial Pilsner with Asiago Stravecchio: This beer is all about the hops, with hoppy, floral aromatics and big hop bitterness. It is partially balanced with just a hint of malitness. We paired it with Asiago Stravecchio, one of a few cheeses bold enough to stand up to this hoppy beast. As is often the case with two strong halves of a pairing, the two cut eachother down to size a bit, resulting in a palatable, fruity and formidable relationship.

Chocolate Stout with Colston Bassett Stilton: When Sebbie was here two years ago to work a beer and cheese tasting up town, we came upon this creation and swore that we had never tasted anything better. Wednesday, we confirmed our oath. We contemplated switching things up just to keep things fresh, but decided that any other pairing would be inferior, and we did not want to deprive our customers of this true gastronomic pleasure. The next time you have a piece of Stilton in the fridge and you plan on serving it after dinner, skip the Port or Sherry and buy yourself a bottle of the Rogue Chocolate Stout.

This week, Glen from the Foodery will bring some hard-to-find brews to 9th Street. Be sure to come in and see what we do with them!